Top Cloud-Based Load- and Performance-Testing Tools

Cloud computing has changed the face of information technology today. Everything, from software applications and operating systems to databases and entire infrastructures, is available as a service through the cloud. Three important ways in which cloud computing has changed our lives are: SaaS (Software as a Service), IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), and PaaS (Platform as a Service). We are focusing more on SaaS here. Enterprise apps, the ones that are fundamentally used by corporates for various functionalities, can be better implemented with the help of SaaS.

Load testing and performance testing are two major areas in which SaaS can be used extensively. In load testing through browsers, users and applications are properly emulated in order to find the breaking point of any application, website, or service.

Where Does SaaS Come in?

SaaS is in use by all sorts of technology companies today. Look at Salesforce.com for instance. It is a complete Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution available in the SaaS form. GoToMeeting is another SaaS offering that many companies use for conference calls. The data and the application are served over a high-speed network to the end users. SaaS model has several advantages:

Lower costs: SaaS helps companies reduce costs as generally the SaaS is subscription-based rather than purchased on a licensing basis. This also makes it easy to increase the user base for the SaaS provider.

Scalability: SaaS is completely scalable and can be seamlessly integrated to other SaaS environments. SaaS provider takes care of all the infrastructure provisioning, installation, and database support.

Easy upgrades: SaaS is entirely remote and easy to use. Since client systems do not need any software installation, upgrading, maintenance, and new releases of an application becomes painless. Customers access the SaaS directly using their browsers.

Best Load Testing Tools in SaaS Form

1. SOASTA CloudTest

Mobile app developers, quality assurance professionals, and websites use Soasta CloudTest to ensure quality and robustness of their applications. The service is available on demand globally with a visual test environment. Real time analytics and ways to test single and a series of cases make CloudTest a popular service.

2. CloudSleuth

CloudSleuth provides a number of performance analysis tools such as CDN Performance Analyzer, Gomez Website Performance Test, etc. CloudSleuth, owned by Compuware, is a partner-driven community of cloud experts, created to better adopt distributed technologies. You can submit the application URL to CloudSleuth, and they test the performance of your app.

3. PurpleStrike RT

PurpleStrike RT is a turnkey performance and load testing solution that relies on Amazon EC2 infrastructure. This load-testing tool helps you automate desktop and web applications on real browsers. This on-demand service can test various types of applications including .NET, Flex, Web-based, Siebel, etc.

4. Neustar Web Performance Management

This application used to be known as BrowserMob previously. This application also uses real web browsers to create user interaction scenarios. Since the service uses real browsers, it helps you identify whether various objects within your app or web page are responding to requests. These components can be anything from JavaScript objects and images to advertisements.

5. LoadStorm

LoadStorm is a leading load-testing solution in the cloud with several options. It is easy to set up LoadStorm to create as many virtual users as you want to find the breaking point of your app. The service provides the step by step instructions necessary for setting it up. It also uses Amazon’s cloud services to simulate users. The virtual users created by LoadStorm collect data in real time for better analysis. Various testing plans are available, in which load-testing scenarios can be developed. These scenarios are customizable to add any extra steps necessary. The testing scenarios can also be scheduled as per your requirements.

6. Keynote

Keynote is a popular cloud-based solution for various important tasks: mobile functional testing, load testing for websites, mobile app performance testing, and analytics. Web and mobile load testing is an integral part of this solution. The load-testing solution helps you simulate nearly a million users from multiple resources.

Conclusion

A software developer, web service administrator, or a mobile app developer understands very well how important load and functionality testing is. Using SaaS for the purpose has exceptionally simplified the way the whole process works.

About the Author: Lenin VJ Nair works for MSys Load Test. MSys is a technology company based in Georgia that focuses on storage, cloud computing, test automation, and virtualization domains. Lenin also writes articles on his tech blog.